Saharanpur tense again after another death

Tension prevailed in violence torn Saharanpur after a trader, who had been shot at and critically injured during sectarian clashes last month, died in the hospital.
 
The death of the trader, identified as Pradeep Chauhan, at a hospital in Chandigarh late on Friday night, triggered tension in his native village of Asnavali in the district prompting the administration to rush security personnel to the village to maintain peace, police sources here said.
 
Senior police and civil administration officials also reached the village after a large mob gathered at the residence of Chauhan on getting the information of his death. District's borders with Haryana and Uttarakhand have also been sealed, sources said.
 
Police officials said that the situation was ''tense''. Chauhan's body was likely to arrive in the village later in the evening, sources said.
 
Chauhan, who operated a grocery shop, was shot at by unidentified motorbike borne assailants on May 24 while the former was on way to the market. He had suffered serious injuries and was referred to a super speciality centre in Chandigarh.
 
With Chauhan's death, the caste based violence, that had rocked the district last month, has claimed the lives of three people besides leaving two dozen others injured.
 
The district was already tense after the arrest of the main accused in the caste clashes and founder of the dalit outfit 'Bheem Army' Chandrashekhar. Violence erupted in the district after members of Thakur community tried to take out a procession through a dalit hamlet at Shabbirpur village last month despite objections from the latter.
 
The authorities have imposed a ban on the internet services for two days in the district after reports that 'Bheem Army' members may hold demonstrations to protest Chandrashekhar's arrest.
 
The clashes had triggered concern within the Yogi government, which also faced flak from the opposition for failing to check the violence.